I had a nice but tired swim at Riverbank this morning with Rondi. It was a clear and cold morning, and through the pool windows we were able to watch the full moon setting over the river during breaks during the first set. Here’s what I did:

800 lcm warmup (400s, 200k, 200p)

1 x 500 FR, mod. pace2 x 300, done as 50 ST (IM order) / 50 FR [I did the first one long and easy, and intended to do the 2nd one as 25 build + 25 fast + 50 easy, but it was clear by the 150 that I had no fast swimming in me this morning—I gave in and decided to make it a long slow swimming day rather than fight with the water.]3 x 200 IM, with 1st 100 kick on 1st, middle 100 kick on 2nd, last 100 kick on 3rd4 x 150 FR/BK/FR at drill pace, working on rotation and strong core5 x 100, odds IM, evens kick

400 warmdown + play

That was it!

The reason I was so tired this morning is that I did a breaststroke clinic last night from 8-9. It was so worth it! The clinic was taught by my team’s head coach Scott, and was billed as an advanced clinic focused on racing technique. I learned that I was dipping my hands down too much on the recovery, thus creating drag with my arms during the glide phase—I am working on keeping my arms parallel to, and very near, the surface of the water. (This tests the limits of my shoulder flexibility, and left me a little sore). I worked on throwing my head into the water after each breath when sprinting—this helps drive turnover. Also got some tips on the pullout (changed the timing of my dolphin kick, and altered my hand placement after the pulldown from beside my thighs to the front) and on timing the approach to the wall at the start and finish. It was an hour well spent, and made me want to go to the other advanced clinics that are offered. But it did involve a lot of swimming at top speed, and I was definitely feeling the effects of that plus the lack of sleep this morning.